1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a magnetic head assembly.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
A magnetic head used in a magnetic tape recorder or a magnetic disk drive must meet demanding design specifications necessitated by high-density recording formats. Thus, in high density magnetic recorder apparatus, the media-bearing surface of a magnetic head must be durable in order to provide long head life despite high pressure contact over the head gap area with highly abrasive magnetic tape media such as chromium dioxide tape. Head materials should have compatible wear properties to prevent head separation loss. Moreover, a magnetic head assembly must have mechanical stability and be able to withstand environmental changes (temperature, humidity, shock and vibration) without performance degradation. Furthermore, it is highly desirable that the head assembly be conducive to a low-cost automated operation for producing magnetic heads reliably on a mass production basis.
Various techniques are known in the art for assembling a magnetic head from cooperating pole pieces. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,909,932 and 4,901,179 are exemplary wherein gap-forming pole pieces are aligned facing each other with a bonding material, such as glass, at the apex of a V-shaped groove extending beneath the gap region.
It is also known in the art to position pole pieces a fixed distance apart and draw bonding glass into the space therebetween by capillary action to form the gap. See for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,246,383; 3,751,803; and 3,824,685.